Golf club head protector

ABSTRACT

This disclosure pertains to a protector for the heads of the wooded golf clubs of a set of clubs which is mounted on the conventional tube carried in golf bags for receiving the golf club. This protector has cooperating cover and body portions for housing and protecting the heads of the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;woods&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; golf clubs and a shank portion which partially encircles the shaft of the club so as to expose a portion of the shaft for affording easy access thereto for quick removal of the club from the tube and the protector when the cover portion is in its open position. The protector is capable of adjustment with respect to the tube to accommodate clubs of different lengths and golfers of different heights.

[ May 23,1972

United States Patent Neff 54] GOLF CLUB HEAD PROTECTOR FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS [72] Inventor; Samuel Net, River Road Route 3,132 2/1912 England..............................ISO/1.5A

Beaver Falls, Pa. 15010 Feb. 18, 1970 Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance Assistant Examiner-Stephen P. Garbe Attomey-Mawhinney & Mawhinney [22] Filed:

[21] App1.No.:

[57] ABSTRACT This disclosure pertains to a protector for the heads of the wooded golf clubs of a set of clubs which is mounted on the [52] [51] lnt.Cl..............

conventional tube carried in golf bags for receiving the golf club. This protector has cooperating cover and body portions for housing and protecting the heads of the woods" golf clubs and a shank portion which partially encircles the shaft of the club so as to expose a portion of the shaft for affording easy access thereto for quick removal of the club from the tube and the protector when the cover portion is in its open position.

G 2 5 s w w New M w am WMA M w h n m N & U Cl 0 M e n mm on 2,128,546 8/1938 Venmore................................150/l.5

3/1936 Bueklin.... 1/1964 The protector is capable of adjustment with respect to the tube to accommodate clubs of different lengths and golfers of different heights.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMMB I972 INVENTOR SAMUEL G. NEFF on) ATTORNEYS GOLF CLUB HEAD PROTECTOR The present invention relates to a golf club head protector for the woods," that is, the wooden clubs of the golf set, and has for an object the provision of such a device which can be readily adjusted to accommodate golf clubs of varying lengths and for the convenience of golfers of different heights. The present invention also has for an object to provide a protector of this type which, while completely housing the wooden head of the golf club, has a recess or offset portion which exposes a part of the shank, or shaft, of the golf club so that the exposed portion of the shaft of the club may be readily and easily grasped by the thumb and two first fingers of the golfer for quick and easy withdrawal of the club from the tube and the protector without the necessity of reaching to an excessive height above the golfers head.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a protector of this character which can be readily mounted upon the conventional tube now in use with golf bags for receiving the various clubs of a set of clubs, without requiring any modification whatsoever of the conventional tube.

The present invention aims to provide a protector of this kind which includes means for retaining the protector in a selected adjusted position on the tube.

A further aim of the present invention is to provide a pro tector of this type which is formed in one integral piece by injection molding and includes a body portion, a cover portion hingedly connected to the body portion, and a shank portion which is adapted to be supported by the conventional tube for holding golf clubs.

The present invention contemplates the provision of spring means associated with the body and cover portions for assisting in the movement of the cover portion into its closed and open positions and retains the cover portion in either its closed or open position.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide for cooperating means on the cover and body portions for assisting in retaining the cover portion in its closed position and also means on the cover portion for facilitating the opening of the cover portion against the resistance of the retaining means for holding the cover portion in its closed position.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a protector of this type which is provided with a graduated scale to assist the golfer in adjusting the protector on the conventional tube.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the-following description when considered together with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a golf club head protector constructed in accordance with the present invention and showing a portion of the shaft of a golf club therein.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the protector mounted on a conventional tube and showing a golf club housed therein.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the protector showing it in various adjusted positions on the tube.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the hosel of the golf club engaging the neck of the protector.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a modified form of a protector in which the protector is mounted inside of the tube.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a conventional golf bag showing the protector of this invention mounted in the conventional tubes holding the golf clubs.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the lines 7-7 of FIG. 1 showing the locking or retaining means for holding the cover in its closed position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 10 designates generally the golf head protector constructed in accordance with the present invention, which comprises a body portion 11 and a cover portion 12. The body portion 11 is provided with an elongated shank portion 13. The lower end part of the shank portion 13 is indicated at 14 and is of tubular formation and is adapted to receive the upper end portion of a conventional tube 15 shown more particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings. The part of the shank portion 13 which is disposed between the body portion 1 1 and the lower end part 14 is substantially semi-circular, as indicated at 16, so that it does not entirely surround the shaft 17 of a golf club 18. The upper end portion of the semi-circular part 16 of the shank 13 is laterally offset, as indicated at 19, so as to expose for quick and easy grasping by the thumb and two forefingers of the golfer a portion 20 of the golf club 18.

The protector 10 is formed in one integral piece by injection molding and includes an integral hinge 21 which is also formed integrally with the body and cover portions 11 and 12 during the injection molding process. The cover portion 12 may be moved from its full-line closed position of FIG. 1 to its open position illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 2 of the drawings. To assist the golfer in the movement of the cover portion 12 to its open and closed positions, a spring 22 is provided which will snap the cover 12 to either its open or closed position after it has passed dead center. The spring 22 will retain the cover portion 12 in either its closed or open position. To assist the spring 22 in retaining the cover portion 12 in its closed position, the body portion 11 is provided with a blister or protuberance 23 at each free edge 24 thereof and the free edges 25' of the cover portion 12 are provided with cooperating sockets, or depressions, 25, as can be seen from FIG. 7 of the drawings. The blisters 23 will snap into the sockets 25 when the cover portion 12 is brought to its fully closed position. In order to facilitate the opening of the cover portion 12, a thumb piece 26 is provided at the lower edge portion of the cover 12, as shown more particularly in FIG. 1 of the drawings.

The body and cover portions 11 and 12 are of a shape and cooperate to conform to the wooden head of the golf club so as to house the same with a minimum of clearance, as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 4 of the drawing. As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 4 of the drawings, the wooden head 27 of the golf club 18 is received by the body and cover portions 11 and 12 of the protector when the cover portion 12 is in its fully closed position, so that the wooden golf club head is protected from contacting with adjacent club heads. As shown more particularly in FIG. 4 of the drawings, the hosel 28 engages the neck portions 29 and 30 of the body portion 11 so as to limit the vertical downward movement of the golf club 18 in the tube 15 and the protector 10 so that the shaft and the hand grip of the golf club will have free fall in the cover and the tube 15 to prevent contact of the club shaft from rubbing against the tube.

The inside diameter of the lower end part 14 of the shank 13 of the protector is of substantially the same diameter as the outside diameter of the tube 15, so that the protector will be held in its selected vertical position on the tube 15 by means of friction.

It will be noted from FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 that the tube 15 is positioned with its lip 31 in order to permit the lower end part 14 to fit over the smooth, or unlipped, end of the tube 15, as shown more particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings.

In the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, the tube is disposed in the golf bag with the lip 31 uppermost, since in this form of the invention the lower end part 14 of the shank 13 of the protector is received within the upper end part of the tube 15. In this form of the invention, the exterior surface of the lower end part 14 of the protector 10 is provided with a graduated scale 32 which may be in increments of one-half inch or other desired increments, so that the golfer may adjust the vertical position of the protector within the tube 15 to accommodate clubs of various lengths and to accommodate the protector to his or her particular 1 pose the adhesive thereon when the protector is being inserted into the upper end of the tube 15 as shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings.

In FIG. 6 of the drawings is illustrated a portion of a conventional golf club bag which has secured adjacent the upper end thereof a conventional plate 34 in which are provided conventional tube and golf shaft receiving openings 35. The tubes 15 are inserted in the openings 15 of plate 34 with the lips 31 of the tubes uppermost and the tube portion 14 of the protector 10 is adjustably inserted into the upper end of the tube 15, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the properly adjusted position, and is held in this adjusted position by the pressurized tape 33 which is carried by the tubular portion 14 and adheres to the inner surface of the tube 15. The indicia of the scale 32 may be utilized in determining how far into the tube 15 the tubular portion 14 of the container 10 is inserted.

While I have described preferred embodiments of my invention, it is understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various omissions, or changes in arrangement of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalent elements for those herein shown and described, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. For use with a tubular golf club holder positioned in a golf bag and having a golf club therein, a golf club head protector adapted to be supported by the golf club holder comprising a body portion and a cover portion having an approximate configuration and size of the golf club head, said body portion having a shank of such a diameter that it is adapted to be frictionally retained in any pre-selected position with respect to the tubular golf club holder so that all extraneous retaining means are unnecessary so that said protector is capable of being adjusted on the golf club holder to accommodate golf clubs of varying lengths and golfers of various heights.

2. A golf club head protector as claimed in claim 1 wherein said shank is adapted to engage the golf club holder and has a semi-circular part adapted to only partially embrace a medial portion of the golf club shaft so that said medial portion of the golf club shaft is exposed to facilitate ready and easy grasping of the golf club shaft by the thumb and first two fingers of the golfer so that the hand grip of the golf club may clear the upper edge of the golf club holder and the upper edge of the shank of the protector while the golfer continuously retains his grip on said medial portion of the golf club and without the necessity of shifting his grip on the medial portion of the golf club from hand to hand in an overhand fashion to clear the upper edge of the golf club holder and the upper edge of the shank of the protector with said hand grip of the golf club.

3. A golf club head protector as claimed in claim 6, wherein cooperating means are provided on the body and cover portions for retaining the cover portion in its closed position, said means being integral with the body and cover portions.

4. A golf club head protector as claimed in claim 3, wherein thumb engaging means are provided on the cover portion to assist in overcoming the resistence of the cover retaining means to the movement of the cover portion to its open positron.

5. A golf club head protector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body portion has a tubular part adapted to receive the upper end portion of the golf club holder and having an inside diameter substantially equal to the outside diameter of said holder so that the protector may be frictionally held on the holder in the selectively adjusted position.

6. A golf club head protector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body portion and the cover portion are formed in one integral piece -by injection molding including a hinge between the body portion and the cover portion to permit movement of the cover portion away from the body portion to permit withdrawal of the golf club from the golf club holder, and means are operatively associated with the body portion and the cover portion to assist in the closing and opening movements of the cover portion and to retain the cover portion in its open or closed position.

7. For use with a tubular golf club holder positioned in the golf bag, a golf club head protectoradapted to be supported by the golf club holder comprising a body portion and a cover portion having a configuration and size of the golf club head and capable of being adjusted on the golf club holder to accommodate golf clubs of varying lengths, said body portion having a tubular part adapted to be received by the holder, a graduated scale provided on said tubular part so that the protector can be adjusted in the holder to the desired extent dictated by the length of the club and the height of the golfer, and an adhesive means on the tubular part for cooperating with the holder to retain the protector in its adjusted position.

8. For use with a tubular golf club holder positioned in a golf bag and having a golf club including a hosel in said golf club holder, a golf club head protector adapted to be supported by the golf club holder comprising a body portion and a cover portion having an approximate configuration and size of the golf club head, said body portion being provided with cooperating hosel engaging neck portions which partially encircle the hosel of the golf club and which are spaced from one another a distance corresponding to the outer diameter of the hosel of the golf club so that the hosel of the golf club is frictionally engaged by said neck portions to limit the downward movement of the club in the protector whereby the shaft of the golf club will have free fall in the golf club holder. 

1. For use with a tubular golf club holder positioned in a golf bag and having a golf club therein, a golf club head protector adapted to be supported by the golf club holder comprising a body portion and a cover portion having an approximate configuration and size of the golf club head, said body portion having a shank of such a diameter that it is adapted to be frictionally retained in any pre-selected position with respect to the tubular golf club holder so that all extraneous retaining means are unnecessary so that said protector is capable of being adjusted on the golf club holder to accommodate golf clubs of varying lengths and golfers of various heights.
 2. A golf club head protector as claimed in claim 1 wherein said shank is adapted to engage the golf club holder and has a semi-circular part adapted to only partially embrace a medial portion of the golf club shaft so that said medial portion of the golf club shaft is exposed to facilitate ready and easy grasping of the golf club shaft by the thumb and first two fingers of the golfer so that the hand grip of the golf club may clear the upper edge of the golf club holder and the upper edge of the shank of the protector while the golfer continuously retains his grip on said medial portion of the golf club and without the necessity of shifting his grip on the medial portion of the golf club from hand to hand in an overhand fashion to clear the upper edge of the golf club holder and the upper edge of the shank of the protector with said hand grip of the golf club.
 3. A golf club head protector as claimed in claim 6, wherein cooperating means are provided on the body and cover portions for retaining the cover portion in its closed position, said means being integral with the body and cover portions.
 4. A golf club head protector as claimed in claim 3, wherein thumb engaging means are provided on the cover portion to assist in overcoming the resistence of the cover retaining means to the movement of the cover portion to its open position.
 5. A golf club head protector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body portion has a tubular part adapted to receive the upper end portion of the golf club holder and having an inside diameter substantially equal to the outside diameter of said holder so that the protector may be frictionally held on the holder in the selectively adjusted position.
 6. A golf club head protector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body portion and the cover portion are formed in one integral piece by injection molding including a hinge between the body portion and the cover portion to permit movement of the cover portion away from the body portion to permit withdrawal of the golf club from the golf club holder, and means are operatively associated with the body portion and the cover portion to assist in the closing and opening movements of the cover portion and to retain the cover portion in its open or closed position.
 7. For use with a tubular golf club holder positioned in the golf bag, a golf club head protector adapted to be supported by the golf club holder comprising a body portion and a cover portion having a configuration and size of the golf club head and capable of being adjusted on the golf club holder to accommodate golf clubs of varying lengths, said body portion having a tubular part adapted to be received by the holder, a graduated scale provided on said tubular part so that the protector can be adjusted in the holder to the desired extent dictated by the length of the club and the height of the golfer, and an adhesive means on the tubular part for cooperating with the holder to retain the protector in its adjusted position.
 8. For use with a tubular golf club holder positioned in a golf bag and having a golf club including a hosel in said golf club holder, a golf club head protector adapted to be supported by the golf club holder comprising a body portion and a cover portion having an approximate configuration and size of the golf club head, said body portion being provided with cooperating hosel engaging neck portions which partially encircle the hosel of the golf club and which are spaced from one another a distance corresponding to the outer diameter of the hosel of the golf club so that the hosel of the golf club is frictionally engaged by said neck portions to limit the downward movement of the club in the protector whereby the shaft of the golf club will have free fall in the golf club holder. 